Carpe Noctum (and a New Dawn)
by Shadow-Phoenix-Rider
Summary: An N7 Day fic. It's been two years since the Reaper invasion of the galaxy, and Akeelah Shepard is still in recovery in a secluded place on Earth with her love Kaidan. The anniversary of the day she saved their lives is coming up, and Kaidan has a surprise for her (with help from a friend).


**Author's notes:** This is kinda lightyears away from the state of Akeelah and Kaidan's relationship in the fics I have at the moment, but I figured that N7 day only comes once a year, might as well seize the day whilst I can! Happy N7 day!

* * *

 _Has it really been two years since the Reapers?_ Kaidan thought to himself as he cooked breakfast one morning, looking out over the loch. _Feels like a lifetime._

Soft footsteps on the stone floor of the cottage turned his attention away from one view onto another. Akeelah Shepard was newly awake, wearing a dark casual shirt and soft trousers that were not too far away from becoming tracksuit bottoms, her feet bare. Her brown hair was dark with damp, still in thick, water-logged spikes that divided into smaller ones every time she ran her fingers through them. Her green eyes were a little dull from lingering tiredness, but they'd been accented with her usual eyeliner and mascara, lashes thick and long.

"Good morning, love." Kaidan rumbled affectionately, stepping away from the stove for a moment to press a loving kiss to her lips. "You're looking radiant today."

She chuckled, a slight blush appearing on her terracotta cheeks.

"As in beautiful, or as in causing invisible damage?" She asked, and he laughed, remembering the last time they'd had this conversation.

"Is it still both? Oof, yup, still is." Kaidan said, pantomiming a hit to his heart, grinning widely as she laughed.

"You big goof." Shepard said as he returned to his cooking. "And you're a flatterer, too."

"I beg to differ." He smiled.

There were scars on her arms and neck, pale and knotted, but the biotic thought little of them, except if they were causing her pain or discomfort. He had his own, and like her, had gained a particularly gnarly one on the final run to the beam. Burning fuel and high-speed shrapnel had torn into his side and thigh, which had made walking agony without medigel and heavy duty painkillers. The scar twinged even as he thought about it.

But Akeelah's had been worse, with more burns and broken bones than he knew a human could have and still stay alive. She almost didn't. Kaidan shook his head to banish the thought, focusing for that moment on his cooking.

From what he'd heard in the hospital, it was the Cerberus implants and Akeelah's sheer determination to live that had brought her through.

" _Her will is strong."_ One of the doctors had said. _"If we give her the tools, she will pull through. We will not fail her."_

Kaidan couldn't believe he was thanking Cerberus, again. Her implants were still working, speeding her recovery beyond their wildest dreams, but Miranda doubted if Shepard could ever return to proper service again. They'd been stretched beyond their limits and had not been found wanting, but they were likely never to work at peak efficiency again.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"What've we got this morning?" Akeelah asked from the kitchen table, toying with her fork.

"One of those traditional English breakfasts." Kaidan replied, dishing it up. "It looks really good. Bet it tastes even better when we get access to quality ingredients."

"Not much you can do about it right now," she said, shrugging. "We're out in the sticks and the war's not been over long…"

"It's two years today," he said, putting the plates down on the table. Shepard's eyes widened.

"Two years, already?"

"That was my reaction." He chuckled. "Doesn't feel it, does it?"

"No, not at all." Shepard gazed off out the window. "My recovery feels like its taken longer than that."

"You've come a long way, Shepard." Kaidan smiled warmly. "I'm proud to have been by your side every step of the way."

"Even when you had to help me pee?" She grinned at him before shoving a forkful of egg and beans into her mouth. He chuckled.

"Yes, even then." A melancholic feeling came over him. "I'm still so happy we made it through."

"Me too." The ex-soldier nodded, working through her next mouthful before she spoke again. "If you hadn't have come for me…"

"Hey, hey." Kaidan reached out, laying a soothing hand on her arm. "It's alright. We're here now."

She nodded, and they ate their breakfast in silence for a while, trying to dismiss those thoughts of what could have happened.

"We should probably see if we can get the crew together somehow." Shepard commented, frowning as a hash brown collapsed under her fork. Kaidan looked up with a bit of start.

"Might be difficult," he said. "We're supposed to be mostly off the grid, and like you said, there's still much to do."

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed. "I keep feeling I've left the galaxy a worse place."

"Would be worse if you'd done nothing." The biotic said, brown eyes serious. "You saved the galaxy from annihilation. People know that. Doubt they'll be rallying to any big fights any time soon. Destruction makes people prefer peace."

"I should hope so." Akeelah said, prodding a piece of bacon listlessly. Kaidan thought for a moment.

"Well…We do know a couple of people who could be discreet. If I ask Hackett nicely, he might let us organise something. I bet Gwen knows some secret meeting places."

He watched the First Human Spectre's face intently as she considered, swirling the bacon piece through the baked bean sauce.

"I like that idea, Major." She grinned.

They did get into contact with Hackett, or rather, he got into contact with them, asking Shepard for a moment of her time. He wanted to update her and explained he needed a statement from her. The media had been reluctantly content with Shepard falling off the map after the Incident (the very thought made Kaidan's biotics hum with fear and anger), but Hackett knew they would need placating if they weren't going to start hunting for their saviour to drag out all the gory details. Besides, Emily Wong was first in line for an interview.

It was about then that their host/landlord Gwen dropped by. She was a large lady with a weathered face and greying hair, but brown eyes as sharp as razors, as was her wit. She was a Scot through and through; warm and gentle, yet extremely formidable, and stubbornness even Kaidan had a hard time matching.

"Two years, mm?" She hummed.

"Yeah, I was just telling Shepard." Kaidan said. "Does it feel that long?"

"Aye." She replied. "Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. Not sorry to have seen it go."

"Me neither." The biotic nodded. "Especially for Akeelah. It was taking a toll on her."

"Aye. Won't be long before you'll be leaving this place." Gwen said, and though she was her usual cheerful self, he could have sworn he heard a note of sadness in her voice. "But you'll always have shelter here, whenever you need it. Give me a call and I will sort it out."

"Oh, well, thanks." Kaidan smiled weakly. There was no use trying to argue out of the agreement.

"That reminds me." The older woman came over to him, handing over a familiar piece of light blue folded fabric. "A gift for you. You'll need it in the future, I think."

Kaidan glanced up to see a sly smile on Gwen's face, and he couldn't help but flush red.

"Good to see you kids having a good time together." The Scotswoman chuckled. "You both deserve it." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't forget it."

"I won't." The sentinel assured her. "I've already screwed up enough in the past." His hand brushed over his trouser pocket. "I intend to make the most of all the time we have now."

"Good." Gwen nodded. She made to leave before she stopped, appearing to consider something. "You know, it's going to be a full moon tonight, and the skies are going to be clear. Before you leave, it would be worth seeing the moon in the loch." She smiled. "Remind you what you love about Earth."

Kaidan looked at her for a while.

"That…yeah, we'll do that tonight. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Gwen smiled.

* * *

She'd been right about the weather. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and the Moon was a bright, full white orb, lighting everything in silver. A shiver ran up Kaidan's spine as he remembered the night in his parent's orchard. It had been five years and yet memories of that night still made blood careen into his nether regions. This was not particularly helpful if you were negotiating the slippery stone paths with your lover to the loch's shores in the dark.

"Wow." Akeelah breathed. "Gwen wasn't kidding, was she?"

"No, she wasn't." He smiled.

The water was as still as a pane of glass, the moon reflected in it, as were the stars that had returned after years of light pollution, sequins studded into a cloak of inky black. The only sounds were of their breathing and the slight slap of water against the stones at their feet, the night peaceful and calm. A part of the biotic hummed anxiously, warning that the quiet was the herald of danger, but it was soon silenced when he felt a warm hand slide into his, making him look at the woman beside him.

Akeelah was looking up at him, pupils wide with the darkness, hair bleached silver in the moonlight. She only smiled at him, but his heart almost bounced out of his chest just to see it. She was gorgeous, beautiful, and happy.

It was then Kaidan knew that he was a fool if he didn't seize this chance right now, careful plans be damned.

"Shepard," he began, turning to face her, "we've been through a lot together, though I still wish I could have been there for your dark times." He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to protest. "I was an idiot back then. I hope one day I'll make it up to you. But that's not why I wanted to say this."

"I wanted to say this because, well, I love you." He smiled. "I fell in love with you on the first Normandy, and I never stopped, not even for a moment. Through the good…and the bad." The biotic swallowed hard, blocking off the memories of those long two years. "You're everything I've wanted, everything I need, and I…I hope I make your life better too."

Kaidan felt the need to avert his eyes bashfully, but he forced himself to look into Shepard's wide eyes as he spoke.

"I had a lot of things I wanted to do after the War ended. Not all of them are gonna go to plan because, well, it's you, Shepard." He chuckled when she raised an eyebrow at him, folding her arms. "I did have a plan for how I was going to do this as well, but I saw how lovely tonight was, and how, how beautiful you look, and," he swallowed hard once again, trying to keep his voice steady. "Well, figured I should seize the night."

The biotic could have sworn he felt his knees shake as he lowered himself down into the pebbles on the shore, taking out something in his pocket. It was the victory ring, the band still slightly scorched from when Shepard had worn it under her armour not two years previously.

"Akeelah," Kaidan said, "will…will you take me as your husband?"

Her eyes widened, and she clasped her hands to her lips, utter shock and surprise clear on her face. After a beat, he saw tears begin to well in her eyes, and she moved her hands away to say:

"Oh God…" She swallowed hard, and tried again. "Kaidan, yes. Yes, yes of course!"

The answer hit him hard but made him felt as light as a feather, and he was just about to rise from his knee when Akeelah kissed him hard, almost causing him to tumble over onto his back. He lifted his spare hand to cup the back of her head as he kissed back just as hard, feeling hot tears of his own squeezing past his eyelashes.

The sentinel didn't know how long it was until they broke away to breathe, but when they did they were overflowing with euphoria, reaching forward to wipe away each others' tear tracks.

"You found it." Shepard spoke first, taking the ring from him.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Found it yesterday, looking through our stuff." His smile was wobbly as he climbed to his feet. "Seemed appropriate, the day you beat the Reapers."

"I'd say." She agreed, rubbing at the scorch marks with her thumb. "God, I can't believe…"

Kaidan pulled the ex-soldier into his arms and held her close, rubbing her back.

"I feel the same, my love," he said.

"I wish Anderson was here." She murmured softly, leaning against him.

"Me too. Me too." Kaidan could feels the words on the tip of his tongue. _My dad. Ash. They deserved to be here too._

They held each other for a while, letting the sombre moment pass before they parted, though not far.

"You know, I don't think I'm gonna sleep tonight." Shepard said, a half-smile on her lips.

"Me neither." Kaidan smiled. "Don't know where we're gonna start with the wedding, though." He chuckled weakly.

"The media is going to be all over us, and the crew is gonna be pissed they didn't see it." Shepard said, huffing a sigh out through her nose.

"Well," Kaidan began, "if we can keep it secret, I don't see why we can't do another one later…"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Wait a minute. Are you thinking of two proposals?" She asked.

"They won't know that." The biotic replied. "Gives us a breather before we need to plan it too. Lets us get ideas. Not like we're in a hurry, right?"

Akeelah stared at him for a long moment, before a slow, sly grin crept across her face.

"I love it." She grinned, before she pushed him playfully. "I knew I wanted to marry you for a reason!"

Kaidan laughed.

"Let's just hope we can keep it a secret then, huh?"

"Please, Major." Akeelah waved dismissively. "I'm the epitome of subtlety!"

The sentinel shook his head, chuckling.

"I'll hold you to that…wife."

That got him a playful glare.

"Getting ahead of yourself, Spectre. We're not married yet."

"Sorry. Can't help myself." He beamed, feeling his biotics humming brightly under his skin. "I'm just so happy."

"Me too." She smiled back. "Me too."


End file.
